Esquire Style the Funda Mentals

Once again, they apply not only to the economy but to a way of dressing. Esquire travels to ventura, California, to document a welcome style revival: American prep.

You may think these clothes (not to mention the guys wearing them) skew a bit toward the youthful, but even at your age, boyish charm can score points with the blond in the T-bird. Hence the weekend uniform seen here on Ryan Tanner, inspired by the varsity sidelines and consisting of a well-cut navy sport coat, pressed khakis, crisp cotton shirt, and plaid tie. On Ryan: Three-button single-breasted cotton sport coat ($650), cotton shirt ($98), silk tie ($125), and cotton trousers ($98), Polo

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They're not as forthcoming as a letter sweater, but still, the clothes you wear every day say a lot about the man inside. Michael Vizzo, opposite, betrays an appreciation for the all-American with an Eisenhower-style windbreaker, a button-down oxford with a crisp white undershirt poking out at the neck, and a pair of the requisite footwear--Jack Purcells. The glimpse of plaid lining in the barracuda jacket on Brian Hill, above, is also a dead giveaway. This page, on Brian: Zip-front cotton jacket ($125), cotton shirt ($60), and cotton trousers ($50) by Tommy Hilfiger. Opposite page, on Michael: Button-front cotton-blend jacket ($525), cotton shirt ($260), cotton-blend

As anyone who's seen a photo of a windblown, suntanned Kennedy tossing a football on the beach in Hyannis Port can attest, the prep types among us manage the perfect balance of clean-cut and tousled. Case in point: Ryan Tanner's sharp checked-shirt-and-bow-tie combo mellows under a slightly rumpled unlined suit. This page, on Justin Werth, assistant football coach: Zip-front cotton jacket ($225), cotton shirt ($95), silk tie ($95), and cotton trousers ($125) by Boss Hugo Boss; suede lace-up boots ($90) by Clarks. Opposite page, on Ryan: Three-button single-breasted cotton suit ($2,225) by Giorgio Armani; cotton shirt ($175) and silk bow tie ($80), Best of Class by Robert Talbott.

Seersucker speaks of days of ice cream socials and Sunday bests, but it has lost favor lately with the nonsmarmy masses thanks to its popularity with Southern lawyers. If you can do like Ryan Aikens here and get past the image of a corrupt, balding man drinking iced tea and fanning himself with a straw hat, the fabric's strengths are undeniable: It moves, it breathes, it wears wrinkles well, and it's the only dressed-up suit that promises never to induce Nixonesque sweating. On Ryan: Three-button single-breasted cotton seersucker suit ($1,640), cotton shirt ($210), and silk tie ($100) by Jil Sander.

For store information see page 162. For our picks of the coolest new clothes and where to buy them--plus style advice from executive editor Scott Omelianuk--visit esquire.com/style. Production by Emily Roth. Casting by Christine Suarez. Grooming by Robert Occhipinti. Makeup by Nicholas Whitehead.